Keir Starmer cuts aid to fund hike in defence spending

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has set out plans to increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income by 2027, as peace talks to end the war in Ukraine gather pace.

The PM said he would cut the UK’s international aid budget to fund the rise in defence spending, which is currently 2.3% of GDP.

The announcement comes ahead of a meeting between Sir Keir and US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.

President Trump has been urging European countries to spend more on defence, as global powers attempt to broker a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Sir Keir said the UK’s aid budget would be reduced from 0.5% of GDP to 0.3% in 2027, “fully funding the investment in defence”.

He told the Commons that would mean spending £13.4bn more on defence every year from 2027.

The prime minister said defence spending would rise to 2.6% of GDP by 2027, once the contribution of intelligence services to defence had been factored in.

Urging European allies to step up, Sir Keir said the UK would also set out a “clear ambition” to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP after the next general election.

He said the boost in defence spending could only be funded through “extremely difficult and painful choices”, adding the aid cut was not “an announcement I am happy to make”.

The prime minister said the UK would “continue to play a humanitarian role in Sudan, in Ukraine and in Gaza, tackling climate change, supporting multinational efforts on global health and challenges like vaccination”.

But at times like this, he said, “the defence and security of the British people must always come first”.

In its election manifesto, Labour said it was committed to “restoring development spending at the level of 0.7% of gross national income as soon as fiscal circumstances allow”.

Charities were stunned by the aid cut, with Save the Children calling it “a betrayal of the world’s most vulnerable children and the UK’s national interest”.

“There is nothing respectful about slashing lifelines for families in the most dangerous places,” the charity’s chief executive Moazzam Malik said.

Sir Keir had previously said the UK government would set out a pathway to spending 2.5% of GDP on the military by the next general election, following a review of the country’s defence capabilities.

But rapid diplomatic developments, spurred by President Trump’s push to end the war in Ukraine, injected urgency into decisions about defence.

Military chiefs have been calling for spending on defence to be much higher than 2.5% of GDP.

On Monday, the former head of the British Army, Lord Richard Dannatt, said the UK should be aiming for 3.4% to match US spending on defence.

The prime minister’s visit to the White House later this week follows French President Emmanuel Macron’s talks with Trump on Monday.

It is a high-stakes visit as European leaders scramble to put forward their own proposals for ending the war and keeping Russia at bay.

Sir Keir is expected to discuss the importance of Ukraine’s independence, US security guarantees and European involvement in peace talks when he speaks to Trump.

The prime minister has said the UK is prepared to send troops to Ukraine to guarantee its security as part of a peace treaty, but only if the US provides a security “backstop” to deter Russian attacks.

Ahead of his visit to the White House, Sir Keir said: “We must reject any false choice between our allies, between one side of the Atlantic and the other.”

He described the US as “our most important bilateral alliance” and expressed his ambition to “deepen” the alliance with Europe on defence.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch welcomed the increase in defence spending and the “repurposing” of money from the aid budget.

But she did question whether the government had a strong enough economic strategy to underpin the rise in spending on defence.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for cross-party talks to spend 3% of GDP on defence “as soon as possible”.

He said the UK should seize frozen Russian assets to help pay for support for Ukraine.

The SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, said that whilst his party backed the increase in defence spending, it could not support “the populist playbook” of cutting aid to fund it.